Otherworldly Yet Familiar, Max Berry’s Paintings Maintain Sense of Mystery

Across Max Berry’s body of work, you can’t help but notice the prevalence of houses and boats. In his dreamy, tactile oil paintings, these human-made structures appear dwarfed by the vast natural environments they sit within.

The Northern Territory-born artist says he includes the small, familiar objects to help transport viewers into wider landscapes. Occasionally, Berry heightens this sense of immersion in other worlds by collaborating with sound artists who create music to accompany his exhibitions.

While he often begins paintings by referring to photographs and notes taken during his travels, he also stresses that there’s mystery involved. “Very rarely would I have something overly specific in mind before making any works. It’s more intuitive.” The artist links his own connection with the natural world to childhood road trips, when his family would travel from his remote hometown of Katherine to visit relatives in South East Queensland. “There would be many days in the car with a lot of looking.”

Berry’s private commissions include a poolside mural at Capella Sydney, the abstract depiction of the seemingly endless Glass House Mountains on the Sunshine Coast hinterland adding a layer of perpetual calm to the hotel’s wellness space. Recently, he moved his studio to a property near the ranges, making a home with his partner and young son. It’s a big change from the 17 years he spent working and living in Sydney, and one that has brought him closer to his long-held inspiration. “You can hear the silence. See the stars.”

Exhibited at: China Heights Gallery, Sydney, Australia; Galeria My Name’s Lolita Art, Madrid, Spain

Studied: Bachelor of Design, College of Fine Arts, UNSW Sydney (2009)

What the critics say: “To my eye, there is a fluid, colour-swirled mysticism to Berry’s works, but a truth, too.” – Dr Joseph Brennan, art critic, author and cultural scholar, Art Almanac, 2020

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